Moving a cleaning contract from hourly to flat rates by unit type can multiply the volume from one PM

Consider a cleaner billing turnovers at $38 an hour for a property manager running around 90 doors, splitting the work with three other cleaners and picking up maybe three units a month. The manager's real problem in that setup is budgeting: every invoice is a surprise she has to explain to owners one at a time. A flat rate by unit type solves that. Set $185 for a one bedroom, $240 for a two bedroom, $310 for a three bedroom, with add-ons priced separately: interior of appliances $45, refrigerator pull and clean behind $35, blinds $6 each, exterior windows $4 each. Against typical times of 2.4 hours for a one bedroom, 3.2 for a two bedroom, and 4.1 for a three bedroom, loaded labor at $22 an hour runs about $141 on a two bedroom against a $240 flat rate, plus roughly $14 in supplies. Not a huge margin per unit, but dependable, and predictability is what earns volume. A manager who can quote owners a number before a unit is even vacant will often move a cleaner from three units a month to twelve or fourteen. The risk to price for up front is the outlier unit: a heavy smoker or hoarding situation that blows past the assumed hours. The fix is a condition tier built into the agreement from day one, so anything showing smoke staining, pet damage, or hoarding at the walkthrough gets bid separately instead of eating the flat rate. Most managers agree to that without argument, since they would rather know the exception exists than be surprised by it. Worth keeping in any version of this: a short scheduling window, such as 48 hours, where the manager names the day and the cleaner picks the time. That flexibility is often the main reason a manager stays loyal to one vendor.

5 replies

tonyv88 PU4APRO 10

This is exactly right, and more cleaners should understand it. What a property manager is buying is an invoice she can put in front of an owner without a phone call, and the lowest hourly price rarely delivers that. The condition tier is what makes the flat rate survivable for both sides, and the photo trigger means any argument is about the photos rather than about the cleaner.

tonyv88 PU4APRO 10

derekj19ServicePRO

Your two bed is $240 with $155 of labor and supplies, so $85 of contribution on 3.2 hours. Twelve units a month across a mix is maybe $950 to $1,100 of contribution. What's your fixed monthly cost, and how many PMs like this one do you need before the business supports you rather than supplementing you?

derekj19ServicePRO

monica_tran3 SF2APRO 15

The 9 hour smoker unit is the one to look at hardest. You ate it once and got a rule out of it, which is the right trade. But check whether the rule actually gets applied, because walkthrough photos tend to come in dark and blurry, and by the time anyone is standing in the unit the schedule is already committed. The line that protects a flat rate says that if the condition is outside the flat rate, the crew stops and the owner calls before continuing. Operators who carry that line do end up invoking it, and that is the point of having it.

monica_tran3 SF2APRO 15

ryanmck27CapitalPRO

Did you have to change your insurance when you moved to occupied-adjacent work like this, or were you already covered for it?

ryanmck27CapitalPRO

Moving a cleaning contract from hourly to flat rates by unit type can multiply the volume from one PM

5 replies